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The sun was shining again on our third AGM at the Essex Police Sports Ground in Chelmsford on Sunday 10th June. … families had come to make use of the facilities and enjoy the varied entertainment provided. Numbers were swelled by dancers from Dance 21, the Gateway Club, Footworks and the Mushroom Theatre Company. Since two of the dance groups had to leave early because of other commitments, the day kicked off with their dance displays. Slightly later than on the programme the official AGM started in the sports pavilion. Chairman Greg Stuttle gave an account of the various projects the charity has undertaken over the past year, while Treasurer Andrew Clement took us through the balance sheets. Thanks to some excellent fundraising and our chairman’s talent at persuading companies to donate to Down Syndrome Extra 21 (Waitrose, M&G, Three Valleys Water to name but a few) it remains a healthy balance, and the charity is able to finance all the projects planned for the coming year.
Greg then presented a gift to Mary Schultz, who, after having been involved with the charity in one way or another for over 15 years, decided to step down. On behalf of the committee he thanked her for all her hard work and support over the past years. The rest of the committee agreed to stay on, Paul Smith taking over as vice chair from Sabine Nussey.
The rest of the afternoon was given over to fun and games, and the bar, staffed by volunteers from the police social club, did a brisk trade. The children bounced on the bouncy castles and went up and down the train track – well, some adults did, too. Then it was time for the Mushroom Theatre Company to present several of their acts. Later, Tony Williams entertained us on his keyboard, but this time he had stiff competition from the newly bought disco equipment, funded by M&G. The kit is very impressive and quite a few youngsters were eager to try their hand at D-j-ing. Some well known tunes from that all time favourite Grease had young and old dancing along.
All in all it was yet another successful day, and our thanks go to all the people who helped make it so, especially to Essex police for letting us use their facilities and staffing the bar, to the little red train ( www.littleredtrain.co.uk ), the Mushroom Theatre Company, Jean Hunter with Dance 21, the dancers from the Gateway Club and Footworks and Tony Williams with his keyboard.
D-I-Y Disco
Thanks to a very generous donation from M&G Staff Charity Committee
(£1,073.89 exactly) we have been able to buy some state of the art
Disco Equipment, with professional twin mixing CD decks, speakers and stands,
lights, microphone, headphones and a smoke machine.
With our teenage discos being very popular, the idea is to get some of
the more music mad youngsters properly trained to use the equipment and,
in time, to D-J our discos and other events ourselves – although
play lists may have to be vetted before to remove a glut of music from
Grease and/or ABBA. The equipment was purchased from Thurrock DJ Supplies,
and they are happy to run a workshop in a hall, where we could have maybe
10 teenagers using three or four sets that would be the same as ours. Thanks
to Rob Groves and Ian Sellen of Thurrock DJ Supplies for their help in
selecting and supplying the disco equipment. If your son/daughter is interested
in learning how to use the set, please contact Greg Stuttle on and we will
get in touch with you when we’ve arranged a venue for the training.
What should our disco be called? We need a name that’s catchy and easy to remember, so get your thinking hats on. If your idea gets chosen, you will win a voucher from HMV for a CD. So of you go and think, think,think……
Write your suggested name on a postcard and send it to the editor, Sabine
Nussey, 118B Moulsham Street, Chelmsford CM2 0JW.